Change
by sanitysugar
Summary: One fateful meeting will change the life of a young boy and the Guardians forever. (I couldn't think of what else to say without ruining things)
1. Prologue

**The only thing you need to know before you start is the basic Harry Potter story and that this takes place before the events of the RotG movie and during Harry's second year, and onward. That is all.**

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Harry had never feared the dark or the things that lurked inside it, the dark held no fear for him the way it did for other children. The dark and the shadows had always helped him, hiding him from his relatives and the children of the neighborhood when they wanted to hurt him. Harry heard stories from his cupboard sometimes, the walls of his cupboard where very thin and his Aunt Petunia would tell Dudley stories about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and other legends, either not knowing or not caring that Harry could hear her too. He always believed in legends, where would they come from if there was no truth in them to begin with? The only presents he ever got were the annual gift from Santa he would find in his cupboard and hide before his aunt or uncle could see, he always found the most eggs on Easter even though he was forced to give them to Dudley or be punished, and he loved playing in the snow when it came each winter, not overly affected by the cold for reasons he didn't know. But there was one of his Aunt's stories that stood out the most, the only one she had told him directly to scare him even if hadn't worked, the story about the Boogeyman. Petunia told him horrible stories of how he hid in the shadows and under the beds of naughty children, giving them nightmares, and that he would come for Harry if he didn't behave. Harry's belief had only gotten stronger when he learned magic was real, and all the fantastical things it was capable of.

At twelve years kids were starting to grow out of the stories and legends they were told when they were little, no longer seeing the sheer magic in everything that Harry did, most of them having grown up with magic as a fact of life, and so he never told his friends about the trips he made into the forbidden forest. Harry snuck off to the forbidden forest every chance he could, finding all the shadows and darkness comforting and knowing that nothing in the forest would hurt, he had already befriended a couple of giant spiders during his exploration of the forest. This is how Harry would soon come to meet Pitch Black, the fearsome Boogeyman, and, shortly after, Jack Frost, the very spirit of winter.

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**So, that was the beginning of my first RotG crossover and I'm going based off the movie, not the books. Which I still can't find so I can read, ****dammit. It's short, I know, but they'll get longer, I promise.**


	2. Meeting Pitch

Meeting Pitch

It was the first weekend of the school year, Sunday night and almost the start of the next week, but Harry couldn't sleep. He hadn't been sleeping very well since the year started, feeling guilty that he and Ron, even if Ron was the one driving, had driven into the Whomping Willow. After waiting for the rest of his dorm to fall asleep he quickly slipped out of bed, silently closing the curtains around his bed and heading out. He went through the castle easily, using the shadows to hide and not making a single noise, a skill he had learned quickly at the Dursley's if he wanted to stay unharmed for as long as possible. He was soon out of the castle, going across the grounds to the Willow without need of the invisibility cloak, the dark hiding his small frame easily, and stopped in front of the Whomping Willow, just at the edge of the trees where he wouldn't be seen by a passing staff member on accident but close enough to be heard by the tree. His voice was soft and melodic, carrying easily across to the tree.

"I'm sorry me and my friend crashed into you last week, I wanted to apologize sooner but I couldn't find the chance to slip away. Are you mad at me?"

Harry went towards the tree slowly, looking about as intimidating as a puppy with big green eyes and a slightly sad expression on his face. The Willow seemed to sway gently in some unseen breeze, moving it's branches down slowly towards Harry as he got closer. Harry was soon surrounded by the Willow's branches, weaving themselves together and picking him up carefully, and Harry let out a giggle. The Willow, more confident now, starting shifting, moving him through it's branches like a slide and making him smile. The tree continued this for some time until Harry started to yawn, letting him down when he asked, and Harry started his walk back to the dorm. The moon was high in the sky at this point and Harry realized he must have been gone for quite awhile by now, although he couldn't find any reason to care at the moment, he was just so tired. He looked around him and decided he wouldn't make it back without being seen with how tired he was, going far enough into the trees that he could only see part of the castle and finding a comfortable spot to rest. He was asleep within moments, the moon shining down on him through the treetops.

Harry woke up a short while later, not entirely sure why he was up so soon since it was still nighttime, until he felt it. There was a sort of presence in the air, old and terrifying yet filled with sadness, and it felt like the shadows that Harry often hid in. He wasn't sure what it was, his mind still bogged down by sleep, but he knew it wouldn't hurt him, nothing in the forest would willingly hurt him or allow him to come to harm. He shifted slowly, trying to clear the sleep from his mind, and opened his eyes, adjusting quickly to the darkness. He came face to face with a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a gray, aristocratic, face. The being, for lack of a better word, was staring at him with a slight frown, leaning in further when Harry opened his eyes and studying him carefully. Harry blinked after a moment and the being stood up straight, he was immensely tall and seemed to be wrapped in shadows, and looked up at the moon from where it peeked through the treetops. "It doesn't work on him. Why?"

Harry wasn't sure what the being was talking about, but he sounded very surprised, and he turned quickly back to Harry when he spoke up. "What doesn't work, sir?"

The man's eyes widened comically, moving incredibly fast and crouching down in front of him. "You see me, and yet you are not afraid? Do you know what I am, child? What my job is?" Harry shook his head and the man frowned deeper. "I'm Pitch Black, King of Nightmares. I'm the Boogeyman."

Whatever Pitch had been expecting it definitely wasn't the wide smile and bear hug he received. Harry was so happy to finally meet the Boogeyman and he couldn't help but hug him, the biggest way his friends knew he was happy was because of all the hugs he gave, and he couldn't help himself. Harry's arms easily wrapped around Pitch Black, holding him as tight as he could even if it wasn't much, and didn't even care that it wasn't immediately returned. He was made even happier by the slightly awkward pat on the back he got from Pitch Black, he knew the Boogeyman didn't get hugs often, he was the Boogeyman after all. Harry hugged him tighter and looked up at him with a bright smile, making a surge of protectiveness rise up in Pitch for some reason he didn't know, and he wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I'm glad I got to meet you, Mr. Pitch, I didn't think I ever would."

"Why would a child want to meet me? I am the embodiment of darkness and fear." Pitch was truly baffled by this child, he wasn't Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy that every child wants to meet, he was their worst nightmare, the reason so many of them were scared of the dark, but this child was different somehow.. He could feel something strange in the boy, maybe the reason the Man in the Moon had lead him here, and his shadows didn't affect the boy, wouldn't affect him, just wrapping around him almost comfortingly.

"'Cause you're my favorite, the shadows always help me when I need them and hide me from my relatives and the other kids when they hurt me. There wouldn't be any shadows to help me if you weren't here, Thank You."

The smile this time was even more blinding and Pitch felt himself returning it before he knew what he was doing, feeling both foreign and natural at the same time, and he felt a shift in the air, the moon glowing suddenly brighter for a second before it was gone and Pitch knew that MiM had done something, even if he had no idea what yet. He couldn't bring himself to care when the child suddenly yawned and snuggled into his chest. "What's your name, little one?"

"Harry Potter."

Pitch could tell that Harry was having a hard time staying awake, his eyes drooping but still staying open stubbornly, so he picked Harry up and carried him into the castle, the shadows wrapping around them so they wouldn't be seen, and getting sleepy directions from Harry on where to go. By the time they stopped in front of the portrait that Harry had told him was the entrance the boy was asleep so Pitch just used his shadows to get through and into Harry's dorm, he laid the boy in bed gently and tucked him, waiting there long enough for the Sandman's dream sand to start floating over the boys head and seeing sandy outlines of himself and Harry the way they had been in the forest. Pitch was still the Bogeyman though and he still had a job to do, so he went over to the bed of a redhead, right next to Harry, who was already on his way to a nightmare and hurried it along, leaving him with black spiders circling above his head. He went back to Harry's bed and, with a quick decision, left him a little star made of black sand to let him now it wasn't a dream in the morning.

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Harry woke the next morning with a bright smile on his face, thinking of the wonderful dream he had had, he had finally met and thanked the Boogeyman. He was always the first one up, his relatives having trained him to be up at the crack of dawn, and wasn't surprised when none of the other boys were awake yet. He was about to get out of bed when he saw a small black star on his pillow, filling him with happiness, and he cradled the star to his chest, the comforting feeling of the shadows coming off of it and pulled a string from his trunk to tie it around his neck. After making sure it was secure he started his usual morning routine, finishing just as the other boys started to wake up, and going over to Ron's bed. He quickly pulled the blankets off, making the redhead jolt awake and nearly fall off the bed, glaring daggers at Harry when he started laughing and waking everyone up, they were all used to this by now. The redhead grumbled a bit before getting up and getting ready, Harry heading down to the common room to wait for him. The day passed him in a blur after that, the star and Pitch Black the biggest things on his mind, and he couldn't wait for the day to be over. He didn't come down from his high all day, nothing able to bring him down and smiling brightly all day, and when anyone asked what had him in such a good mood he would tell them he had a really good dream. He wasn't snapped out of it until he and his friends were doing homework in the common room that night.

"Hey Harry, your eyes look different, are you wearing contacts?"

Harry looked up from his Herbology essay, looking at Hermione in question. "No, what gave you that idea?"

"Well you haven't worn your glasses all day, and your eyes have a sort of gold ring around your eyes." Harry looked confused while Hermione just frowned and Ron was looking at them like they were speaking another language, having no idea what contacts were. Hermione just shrugged off Harry's confusion. "Must be a trick of the light."

Harry nodded along with her, finishing his essay soon after and excusing himself early while Hermione rambled to Ron about how he shouldn't have waited until the last minute to do his homework. Harry got ready for bed quickly, not planning to actually sleep but keeping up appearances, and rummaged through his trunk to find a mirror. He eventually found one, a small, handheld, mirror he had gotten in Diagon that was supposed to be unbreakable, and looked at it closely. Harry really hadn't noticed his lack of glasses all day, figuring he had fallen asleep with them on, and had been more startled than he showed when Hermione had pointed it out. There was a strange ring around his irises, almost like molten gold, that made his eyes stand out more than normal but could be passed off as a trick of the light if one didn't look very closely, and he noticed for the first time how dark it was in the dorm, he hadn't turned on any of the lights when he came in, and was even more surprised. Harry wasn't sure what exactly had happened last night, but he smiled when he looked out the window and saw the moon shining brightly, bathing the grounds outside in an ethereal glow. He turned on a couple of lights then, not wanting anyone to walk up and ask why he was sitting in the dark, and made sure the star was still in place. He laid in bed then, waiting for all the other boys to come up and fall asleep, before he crawled out of bed and slipped silently outside, heading for the place he had met Pitch Black last night. He wasn't at all surprised too see the legend already there and looking up at the moon, running up to him and hugging him from behind.

"You came back." The line was said with so much happiness it nearly made Pitch's heart melt at the sound.

"Of course I came back, why wouldn't I?" Pitch returned the hug as best he could.

"Well, you never told me if you were or not, so I didn't know if you would." Harry let go, somewhat reluctantly, and soon found himself sitting against a tree next to the legend. They didn't talk overly much, Harry leaning his head on Pitch's shoulder, and it wasn't very long until Harry's breathing evened out and he was asleep. The gold dream sand soon formed above his head, showing them leaning against the tree together. Harry drifted through awareness throughout the night, him and Pitch sometimes talking, others times just sitting, and it was the safest Harry could ever remembering feeling. They stayed there, sitting against the tree, until Harry fell asleep in the early morning hours and Pitch took him back up to his dorm, not leaving until the first rays of dawn started to show over the horizon.

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**And they meet. **

**Before I go any further, I need to point out that I have not read the Guardians of Childhood series, I am going almost solely on the movie and the tidbits I have found on the internet during my late night obsession searches since this is currently on the top of that list. I found Pitch's end in the movie sad and a little unjustified, he needs fear in order to exist and was doing what he was meant for, and his past from what I have managed to find in the books is even more heartbreaking. This is why my friends always complain I like the bad guys too much, I sympathize with them and then it makes me sad, like Loki in the Avengers, and Voldemort. I just wanna give hem all hugs.  
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**Enough with my ranting, you (I hope) have better things to do than listen to me whine. The next chapter should be out within the next few days, and to those of you reading some of my other stories, I'm truly sorry it's taking so long, I just don't have the inspiration for some of them that I used to.**

**Next Chapter: Halloween**


	3. Halloween

A sort of routine developed between Harry and Pitch, Harry easily able to hide their almost nightly visits, Pitch couldn't always show up because he was still the King of Nightmares, even if he stopped causing them on purpose they were still necessary, and Harry sometimes had too much homework or was just too tired and Pitch would often show up late on those nights to watch him dream for awhile before leaving. They started getting together inside the castle soon after, the weather slowly getting worse and worse and drowning the grounds until no one spent more time outside than they were forced too, colds going around the castle along with the weather. Harry and Pitch had taken to meeting in an empty classroom, close enough to the Gryffindor common room in a hurry but far enough away they didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them. The two had only gotten closer as Harry had accepted the Boogeyman and the nightmares that came with him, and Harry had, in turn, told Pitch of his home life, and forced Pitch to promise not to do anything untoward against the Dursley's, aside from the occasional nightmare of course. Pitch had learned quickly that Harry, while good-hearted and smart, also had a mischievous side that would rival even Jack Frost's from what he knew of the winter spirit, having never met him himself, and didn't tolerate bullying of any form, Pitch had actually had to step in when he had been watching Harry secretly during the day to stop one of his potions from exploding when someone tried to sabotage it after Harry told a boy off for insulting someone. One thing that always made Pitch smile was the ranting Harry sometimes did about his DADA teacher who, on top of being completely conceited and annoying, was a total idiot and didn't teach them anything and Harry was forced to learn everything himself, much the way he had to last year since no one could understand what his old teacher said through all the stutters. The only time Harry could practice what he knew was with Pitch, since it was dangerous for students to practice spells on their own while their magical core was still developing and could cause serious damage if not monitored, but he was still ages ahead of all his classmates in the subject. There were a few nicer days where Harry would drag Pitch into the forbidden forest and show him around, making sure that the Whomping Willow and some of the forest residents, like the acromantulas, wouldn't attack him, and they both enjoyed those nights, Harry because he got to spend time in the forest and Pitch because he got to learn more about Harry and parts of the wizarding world, having never been very interested in human affairs even if most of the magical community didn't have stories about the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, though for some reason everyone knew about the Sandman, and thus didn't believe.

Pitch noticed something about Harry very early on, before he'd opened about about his relatives, and he still had a hard time not literally scaring them to death for what they'd done. They had neglected and abused the kindest child that Pitch had ever come across, used him as a slave and a punching bag, and it was very hard on Pitch's monumental self-control, the only things stopping him were Harry's promise for him not to and the thought of making them suffer for as long as he could the first chance he got. Most would would probably consider Pitch Black a stalker for all the watching he did over one Harry Potter, but it was understandable when one thought of how he was the Boogeyman, even when someone did believe in him they were terrified of him. Harry was the first who had accepted Pitch as a necessary bad, fear was a good thing sometimes. Pitch could tell the boy knew when he was there even if he couldn't see him, he had asked the boy about it once and Harry had told him that he felt like a living shadow to him, comforting and safe for him but with the potential to strike fear into others. Harry always smiled just a little bit brighter and was a little bit happier whenever Pitch was around, and Pitch enjoyed the happiness and joy he felt instead of the fear he used to revel in, centuries had made things tedious compared to the beginning when he was always excited and looking for people to terrorize. The only thing he was worried about was the voice Harry had heard recently in the castle. Only Harry heard it, Pitch hearing nothing but a faint hissing noise like water going through half-empty pipes when Harry heard it, and he was getting worried for the boy.

Pitch had been glad to discover that almost none of the castle's occupants could see him, something he was currently taking advantage of, and slipped soundlessly through the castle behind Harry, randomly scaring people as they passed. The reason for this was Halloween, the only day that the Guardians gave Pitch complete free reign and didn't try to stop him, the day when all the ghosts and ghouls were supposedly able to interact with the living and the only holiday where scaring others was encouraged. Both Pitch and Harry could tell who could see the Boogeyman when they stepped into the great hall, mostly muggleborns that were avoiding them in a way that was probably meant as subtle, and Pitch took great pleasure in sinking into Harry's shadow on the floor and spreading it out slightly to scare some of the kids nearby. Harry greatly enjoyed the feast that night, Pitch sticking close by most of the time but periodically moving around the room and making people jump and enjoying himself immensely, and he wished that Halloween would never end. The spell was broken though when everyone was let out to go back to their dorms for the night, the crowd of students filtering back out into the halls and stopping in the corridor. Harry was too short and far back to see what was going on up ahead but Pitch wasn't, his tall form easily seeing over the children's heads, his sharp eyes taking in the petrified cat on the wall and the words scrawled above it.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

A blond boy, one that Pitch had seen bullying people and who Harry often butted heads with, broke the silence and brazenly spoke the words, adding a threat at the end, and the hall soon erupted with murmurs. Pitch knowing that he could easily lose Harry in the crowd even if he couldn't touch anyone else, leaned down and wrapped his arms over the boys shoulders, most of the tension in his body easing at the comforting touch. "You should hurry back to your dorm, Harry, before things start getting worse."

Harry nodded imperceptibly and was glad to leave at the first chance he got, slipping through the crowd easily when they were ordered to their dorms by the teachers, and slipping into an empty classroom when no one was looking. Pitch let go of him then, Harry settling on a nearby desk while Pitch stood by the door. "Did you see what was wrong with Mrs. Norris?"

"She was petrified, frozen in place but still very much alive, the last thing she saw must have been terrifying because I could still sense the cat's fear."

Harry bit his lip and shifted on the desk. "Do you think it has something to do with the voice?"

Pitch looked alarmed at that, the possibility not having crossed his mind, but feeling that there might be some truth to what Harry had said. "I do not know, but I do know that whatever it is will not get anywhere near you if I can prevent it."

Harry smiled and jumped off the desk, reaching Pitch in a second and hugging him tightly around the waist, the highest he could reach with his shorter than normal height, and getting one in return. Pitch had figured out quickly that Harry liked giving hugs, something he was glad to give the boy in return. "Thanks, Pitch. I should go back before anyone notices I'm not there."

"Would you like to take my way?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically and Pitch picked him up, walking to the shadows in the corner and stepping into them, taking them straight to Harry's dorm where he left Harry for the night, there were a lot of nightmares in the castle tonight that he had to take care of. "Night Pitch."

"Goodnight, Harry."

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**Sorry for the shortness but I've decided to write shorter chapters and post them quicker instead of long chapters that have absurd amounts of time between posts. I'm sorry if any of you are disappointed by this but I had a feeling people thought I was dead for awhile because of my long gaps between posts, I am not abandoning any of my stories, even if I haven't updated them for a long time.**


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